Life is Strange - Episode 1: Chrysalis Review

Life is Strange is an episodic adventure game in the vein of Telltale's recent output, focusing on Max Caulfield, a high school senior at a prestigious school in rural Oregon as she navigates the often messy relationships and life searching that typically pervade this time in a young adults life. Life is Strange purports to tell a high school coming of age story with a sci-fi twist, as Max soon discovers after witnessing the terrifying accidental shooting of her former best friend, that she can rewind time. What's interesting is that the developers, Dontnod Entertainment, use this ability not simply as a gameplay mechanic and puzzle solving device but as a way for Max to become more introspective. The game exudes a shockingly accurate depiction of an indie film, between the characterizations, the music, and the general tone of the writing, which unfortunately feels out of touch at times, Life is Strange clearly takes inspiration from films such as Juno and The Perks of Being a Wallflower to name a couple.

Life is Strange follows the formula most, if not all, adventure games use these days, focused on choices and consequences over traditional puzzle solving. Every response and action you take will have repercussions, some within that same episode and others over the entire season. What makes Life is Strange unique in this regard is the ability to rewind and alter your choices or simply retry interactions for better results. The game smartly allows you to abuse this mechanic quite a bit, allowing for experimentation and exploration of both the games mechanics and the stories characters. It's fun to redo a conversation after learning a key piece of information and having that interaction go more smoothly and exactly the way you wanted. Which is another reason why this mechanic is more than just that; the setting and tone of the story allow for this very 'game-y' mechanic to integrate with the story. Max reacts the way anyone would upon discovering this unbelievably useful ability. Think about how amazing it would have been to have this ability when you were in high school, thankfully the writers thought the same thing and sufficiently explore both the advantages and consequences to being able to literally redo any moment. 

This is the first episode of five so story wise there it's a lot of set up and only minor characterizations, there are a few characters who are clearly important but are severely underdeveloped as well as a darker underlying mystery that is just barely teased. The story and characters are, thus far, well crafted if slightly cliched but filled with potential, the darker themes and more serious aspects of the story can be jarring at first but as the full story slowly reveals itself it's clear this is a world grounded in reality and that our time with Max and her best friend Chloe is going to be far more serious than the initial introduction seems to imply. Overall Life is Strange seems like an exciting new adventure game from a fairly untested developer; Dontnod's only other game is the retrospectively ironically titled Remember Me. The wholly original setting and tone as well as the promise of a highly introspective character driven story is a highly appealing prospect to me and I can't wait for episode two.

(4 out of 5)

Quick & Dirty Reviews

Big Hero 6 (4 out of 5)

For being yet another predictable super hero origin story, Big Hero 6 manages to pack enough heart and inventive action to make it one of the best animated films of the year. The film celebrates science like I've never seen in a children's movie, our heroes are self described nerds, and proud of that fact. They are inventors, engineers and chemists. The film also explores oft-ignored qualities like creativity and passion for learning. For these facts alone Big Hero 6 shoots way up my recommendations list. But thankfully the film is also unequivocally great; performances from the entire cast are fantastic and characters animate beautifully. Even the robot Baymax who never displays a single facial expression still manages to pull off the highly emotional finale, a credit to the fantastic performances and strong writing. This is a children's films that you can be happy to see and take children to go see, it treats it's audience with respect and never panders. No matter your age Big Hero 6 is an exciting super hero film that will inspire you and melt your heart.

Whiplash (5 out of 5)

For a movie based in the music world this film has little do with that particular artistic expression. Instead Whiplash is a phenomenal character study that delves deep into the psyche of two characters desperate to fill holes in their lives. A young aspiring jazz musician who wants nothing more than to be remembered and achieve recognition for his presumed talent. And a ruthless perennially unimpressed jazz teacher who despises anything less than utter perfection yearns to assist the birth of musical greatness. He pushes his students past the breaking point not dissimilar to the way the army breaks down recruits to build them back up as soldiers. An apt comparison as the first half of the film feels very much like Full Metal Jacket in music school. J,K. Simmons is an absolute animal in this film, and I mean that with all due respect, a quick glance from him with eyes filled with fury and it'll make you wince. His mere presence exudes intimidation, but his brutal treatment of his students earns every ounce of it. Miles Teller's performance starts off meek and slowly falls away to reveal a cutthroat ambition and drive that finds little happiness outside of achieving his teachers unreasonable expectations. The films gloriously intense climax is both blood soaked and triumphant, encapsulating both characters and their tragic psyches perfectly.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (3 out of 5)

A spy film that harkens back to the more campy era of Bond films, Kingsman: The Secret Service brings back the outlandish and fun spy genre. What's great about Kingsman is that it pokes fun of old school spy films while simultaneously crafting a fairly decent spy romp of it's own. Similar to Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy, Matthew Vaughn clearly loves the campier spy films of yesteryear and thus Kingsman's take on the genre feels more like a loving homage than cutting satire. The films plot is predictable and forgettable and you'll likely not add the film to your collection but it's a well executed action film. Colin Firth is enjoyably out of character as a badass gentleman spy mentoring a former colleagues wayward son. The action is kinetic, filled with inventive and infectiously paced scenes that'll have you tapping your foot along to the action and editing like a catchy song. Kingsman is an enjoyable two hours at the theater even if it isn't going to set the world on fire.

The Imitation Game (4 out of 5)

A wonderfully executed biopic of one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century and a criminally unthanked contributor to the Allies successful defeat of  the Nazi's in World War II, Alan Turing. The Imitation Game is brilliantly acted, with Benedict Cumberbatch giving the most riveting performance of his career yet. Unfortunately this film feels very, Hollywoodized, the facts are true to life and the performances aren't melodramatic but everyone is a bit too clever, every scene a bit too important. I very much dislike films that come off as trying to hard to impress critics, to me it's distractingly obvious. But despite that fairly significant complaint this is still a great film, it's just trying too hard to be a prestigious one. I'm happy Alan Turing has finally received such a fine portrayal of his monumental contribution to the war efforts while also never diminishing what made the man other than his accomplishments. The Imitation Game is a great biopic led by a greater performance and it'll likely win big during award season, just as it was designed to do. 

Selma (3 out of 5)

Selma marks the very first time the story of Martin Luther King Jr.'s fight for civil rights has been told on film. Focusing around the intense three month period in Alabama, wherein peaceful protests were meet with viscous assaults which would later become known as Bloody Sunday as well as the eventual successful march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery. While an unbelievable fact that King's monumental impact have never been committed to celluloid it may be because it was destined to have David Oyelowo in the lead role. Oyelowo gives a rousing performance as the man behind the myth, as the depiction of MLK in this film is of a man both fed up and tired. His rousing speeches are punctuated by quite moments where doubt, fear, regret and exhaustion eat away at his conscience as he struggles with how to lead his devote followers who he is putting in potential harms way. Oyelowo makes this movie, the story is fairly one sided and too many character come across as villains in what purports itself to be a biopic comes across outlandish at points. Selma contains a great performance of an astounding man but is surrounded by amateur storytelling that falls prey to often to lazy cliches.

Foxcatcher (5 out of 5)

Foxcatcher stars two unrecognizable stars, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum who not only disappear via prosthetics but through unnerving portrayals of two very unstable men. The direction feels very detached, Bennett Miller is more interested in letting scenes go on a couple of seconds longer then they normally would, which allows emotions to set in and the messy awkwardness to simmer. There is a rule to writing, "show, don't tell" and this film exemplifies that technique, the films most memorable or tense moments are completely silent but the actors performances portray more than any dialogue ever could. This isn't a plot heavy film, the characters and their personal journeys are the focus here and it makes these true events all the more tragic. What transpired at the Foxcatcher estate is surreal, at least as it's depicted here, with the things that fueled these men; greed, vanity, jealousy, loneliness, earning for respect, overcoming inadequacies, it's not surprise things ended such as they did. Foxcatcher is immensely unnerving and not entertaining in the least, it crawled deep under my skin and I'm counting the days till it crawls back out. Supported by two career defining performances by Carell and Tatum and an unsettling detached direction that unnerves in every silent moment, Foxcatcher is one of the best films of the year.

Boyhood (2 out of 5)

Boyhood is a technical achievement to be sure but the timescale it was filmed on proved to unwieldy for this director as the aimless story and odd pacing drag the film to a crawl. Boyhood is a nearly three hour home movie, with no core story to speak of the film relies on periodic segments in the life of one family, covering 14 real world years the characters age and grow on screen in the one truly astounding aspect of this movie. Otherwise this is a film that has nothing new to say about the adolescent experience and haphazardly leaps through time causing an odd sense of reliving key moments instead of the forward passage of time. The performances from the adults in the film are believably grounded and the most compelling part of the movie by far, it's a shame then that they are not the focus. I don't have many good things to say about Boyhood as I found it immensely boring and lacking in any substance or true vision. The filmmaker seemed content on just rolling the cameras on whatever new dramatic family moment he could think of next with years passing by in the interim.

More soon ... 

Nostalgia to the Test: The Wire

I watched The Wire about 4 years ago when HBO GO first launched. I came to series after it had become television legend, many critics heralding it as the greatest television drama of all time. When I sat down to watch the series for the first time it seemingly surpassed those lofty expectations. A testament to the shows quality and groundbreaking innovations that to this day have not entirely been surpassed. So here we are, 12 years after the show first premiered and 4 years since my first viewing, I've decided to revisit the series, on the one hand because HBO has remastered the entire series with direction and approval from the original creators. The changes aren't limited to higher resolution, the series which was original broadcast in standard definition with a 4:3 ratio can now be seen in high definition widescreen (16:9). Many scenes have also been color corrected to fix shots or entire scenes that were previously too dark or simply hued in a displeasing way. In this feature I'll not only discuss the pros and cons of the HD remaster of this beloved series but I will also reassess my thoughts on a show that till this day I've considered a masterclass of television and nigh untouchable.

Lets start with the technical analysis. This HD remaster has altered the show significantly, not only is every shot in widescreen displaying things that were previously just out of frame but I would argue that the change to widescreen has also altered the shows storytelling capabilities. First off, the show was shot in widescreen but broadcast in standard definition 4:3, this means those behind this remaster don't have to zoom in to get rid of the black bars that would appear on the sides of the frame on a widescreen display. This is a huge benefit, plenty of people have forcefully implemented widescreen, as you can see on the right, and the zoomed in effect is terrible, actors are cropped out and the entire feel becomes very claustrophobic. The Wire was shot in widescreen so this is thankfully not a problem, the original negatives contain the entire shot, with a little touch up it looks great on a modern widescreen display. The one problem the show runs into is that anything that was just outside the original 4:3 framing is now in the shot, this can create a slew of odd shots that would never have made it past the eye of even a woefully incompetent cinematographer. Most of these are minor issues, a distracting door or a car's side view mirror now in the frame, those issues are easy to overlook. The problem comes when this new widescreen format interferes with the storytelling. Everything in film making is there to serve the story including framing, a shot that once saw bystanders extend past the frame felt like the scene was bustling now the widescreen shows their were less people than the viewer had imagined. This remastering is a marked improvement overall but there are some pretty significant issues that people may not notice upon passive inspection but subconsciously they are missing out on the original story telling intent of a scene. Check out some examples below.

The pole creates a false frame in widescreen

The original shot uses the pole as a frame

This confrontation is messy and close up

In the remaster the shot breaths removing tension

A typical over the shoulder shot

Distracting pink couch and empty space on the left

None of these issues ruin the show and overall the widescreen presentation improves on more scenes than it diminishes. The higher resolution and color correction are nothing but positive results of this remaster. Scenes that were too washed out are toned down, scenes that were too dark are lightened up and various odd hues, particularly yellows, are removed completely for a cleaner look that you could mistaken was shot on modern cameras only yesterday. But does the show hold up.

I'm happy to say, it does. The Wire is rightfully considered one of the greatest television shows in history. Every character is a fascinating and multilayered person that you'll like in one moment and despise the next. Major character are gay but they are not defined by their sexuality, a problem even modern shows have. The way seasons explore different aspects of crime in the city of Baltimore through the eyes of the law breakers and enforcers has still never been done before. Season 1 follows the drug trade, season 2 city port smuggling, season 3 politics and so forth. This allows the show to change up the focus and explore different types of crime following the same characters, this can sometimes be a problem though when an episode has 2 minutes of a character in jail just to remind you he is there. The show can feel bloated as we check in with characters from 2 seasons ago, it feels tangential and takes focus away from the main plot and character arcs of the current season. Having said that every character is interesting and the upside of seeing the heroin addict with a penchant for helping the cops, Bubbles or the merciless gangster with a strong moral code, Omar Little is greater than never seeing those characters again.

The Wire manages to shake up enough of the core conceit season to season that the show feels fresh each time. I'm happy to say The Wire holds up brilliantly, with the exception of some pacing issues due to overstuffed episodes, I still believe The Wire is one of the best television dramas in history and absolutely on of the most influential.

Thoughts On: The Marvel Cinematic Universe

It's been 7 years since Iron Man came out and since then Marvel has grown a brand like no other company I've ever seen, besides Disney with whom, fittingly, they are now apart of. 7 years and we have had 10 films, 2 TV shows and many more of both still to come. They've also pioneered the idea of a shared universe where all the stories they tell exist and interweave, similar to the way the comics have operated for the better part of 50 years. It makes sense, Marvel began in the movie business the way any brand does, as licensed content. Deals were made, contracts were signed and we got the X-Men, Spider-Man and Fantastic Four films. But they were separate franchises, Spider-Man wasn't going to swing by Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and more than that these characters were being interrupted by movie studios more interested in producing a film that will make them millions than honoring the characters. Thus Marvel Studios was born, this wasn't a hired team of film studio executives, these were the same men and women who had been running the original company. The artists and writers who had been defining these characters and this universe in thousands of various comic books. Who better to bring the characters to the silver screen than those who know them better than anyone.

Marvel began this whole venture by setting up solo films, where major characters could have their origin and develop on their own, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and so forth. This all led to a culmination in Avengers where each of these heroes, who were already holding their own franchises joined forces to combat a powerful foe. Genius. Then each of the characters went back to their own solo franchises, but the universe felt bigger. Minor characters from the different films were showing up in other franchises, Coulson being a staple of a few of the films. Marvel then decided to add a new medium to this interconnected universe, television. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. followed a mysteriously resurrected Coulson leading a team around the periphery of the Marvel universe dealing with lower level threats. That shows started off as a me-too kind of thing, pathetically chasing after the success of the Marvel films throwing in an eye-rolling number of references in the hopes of proving their importance.

It wasn't until the last 6 episodes of the first season where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. really came into its own. This marked improvement of the show was able to happen because of Marvels interconnected universe, the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier saw S.H.I.E.L.D. dismantled as the evil organization HYDRA was revealed to have deeply infiltrated the organization. So how did a show named after the organization react, perfectly. S.H.I.E.L.D. is destroyed HYDRA agents began slithering out from beneath their covers and things went bad for our heroes very quickly. The stakes were raised, characters stepped up and developed in interesting ways. Tying into the The Winter Soldier arguably saved the show, from mediocrity and possible cancellation. Season 2 while only in its first half has taken the momentum from the previous seasons finale and completely altered the dynamic on the show. And as of the last episode before the winter hiatus, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has gone from chasing after its more successful older siblings to paving the way for future films and franchises. A revelation in the final moments of episode 10 has set-up drastic changes to the entire Marvel Universe. The exiting part is that the show will be paving the way, in this new exciting frontier.

The massive success Marvel has found in each new venture spurred them to take bigger risks on relatively unknown properties. Guardians of the Galaxy, which proved to be a runaway success has assured Marvel that people view them as a sort of seal of quality, and will go wherever they lead. And excitingly for this Marvel fan, and the millions of others out there, that means delving into some of the more popularly unknown corners of the Marvel comics. Soon to be seen in theaters are Ant-Man (who can shrink to the size of an ant, control said insects and increase in strength while small), Doctor Strange (who defends the world from demons and other mystical creatures from alternate dimensions using magical abilities), Black Panther (the prince of Wakanda, a highly advanced nation in Africa, who defends his city with powers gifted to him by the Wakandan Panther God), Captain Marvel (an Air-Force pilot who through a freak accident is physiologically fused with a member of the Kree alien race bestowing her with immense powers), and The Inhuamns (an entire society of people who were experimented on early in Earths history and isolated, all of whom are gifted with thousands of various abilities). If it wasn't clear through those, possibly insane sounding, descriptions Marvel is confident in themselves and if history is any indications movie goers will have nothing to fear. Marvel has a plan, they teased a character at the end of The Avengers named Thanos, he made a small reappearance in Guardians of the Galaxy and almost everything that has happened in the Marvel Universe can be traced back to him and what he is trying to achieve. When Avengers 3 rolls around the aforementioned films will have all come out, the existing franchises will have all had 3 films. And the sum total of 19 films and 6 TV series will conclude with a two part showdown with this unfathomably powerful foe.

But Marvel is also making headway on the newest content front, streaming distribution. Marvel has tapped Netflix to premier 4 brand new characters each with their own 13 episode season, culminating in a 5th show where the separate heroes team up. Sound familiar, Marvel is hoping what worked for their film ventures will work for them on Netflix. First up, premiering on April 10th of 2015 is Daredevil. After that Jessica Jones, followed by Luke Cage and Iron Fist; culminating in The Defenders. Marvel knows these heroes wouldn't be served well with a 2 hour film, these heroes are better explored in a 13 hour binge marathon. These heroes wouldn't compete with the Avengers these are street level heroes, none of them can fly or control lightning but they can help out the everyday people Iron Man and Thor regularly fly over. Jessica Jones in particular is interesting because she is a former super hero who has retired and opened a private detective agency. Like I mentioned these characters fight for the little guy, the old lady at the end of the street, the kids playing basketball at the park, the guy at the hot guy stand. All four of these series have the potential to explore the universe further and build what is quickly becoming the quintessential dream of every major company in the entertainment industry.

Warner Bros. who own DC have tied together their CW shows Arrow and The Flash. Soon they hope do the same in with the DC Universe in theaters with Man of Steel being the first but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opening up that world very quickly, potentially too quickly. 20th Century Fox has retroactively created a shared universe with their X-Men films. Sony tried and failed miserably to turn a single character, Spider-Man, into an entire shared universe. Even Universal is creating a shared universe with their classic monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, etc. their is no reasonable reason for these films to exist in a shared universe but it shows how desperate studios are to capture the magic Marvel seems to be bursting with.

Another genius of Marvel is that each of their films explores a different genre, Captain America was a period war film, The Winter Soldier was a political thriller, Guardians of the Galaxy was a space opera, the upcoming Ant-Man is a heist film. This postpones, but does not eliminate, the potential for super hero movie fatigue and their are going to be a lot of super hero films in the coming years. Marvel themselves are ramping up production from 2 films a year to 3. That may not seem like a lot but with sequels to the X-Men films, a rebooted Fantastic Four, and DCs slate of 10 films in 5 years. The whole thing has the potential to snap under the weight of so much money stretched thin via saturation.

As it stands Marvel seems to making all the right moves, and they at least seemingly appear to genuinely care about the quality of their output and less about how much it can fatten their wallets. This means their is an emphasis on creativity and risky ventures. Billions of dollars later and Marvel Studios is still made up of the same people who were telling stories with these characters in comic books. They are still very much in love the each and every one of them and thankfully they seem to want to do right but them all. A few years ago a Doctor Strange film wouldn't have ever received the green light, even their latest ABC series Agent Carter is risky, depressingly, for being a female led period drama. But Marvels clout means no one questions their choices and everyone turns up to see what they've crafted. This is an enviable position which I showed others are salivating to achieve but the difference is that their competitors are cynically chasing the financial success and aren't as concerned with the care and craft that goes into bringing these characters to life. I tip my hat to Marvel, as a comic book fan, as fan of good television, and good film-making they are a continual beacon of hope that creative and quality works can still exist in an increasingly committee approved, fiscally motivated industry. Thanks Marvel. Keep it up, were counting on you.

Game of the Year

It has been an interesting year for video games. It was the first full year either of the two new consoles had and it was also the first wave of next-gen only games. But the most interesting thing I noticed which directly involves this Game of the Year round up I’m doing is that it was a year of subverted expectations. Games people had high hopes for or were considered “big” games disappointed or failed to leave an impression; Destiny and Watch Dogs come to mind. While games people had little expectations for or forgot were even coming out blew everyone away; Wolfenstein and Shadow of Modor. It was a very weird and exciting year so let’s go over my favorites games of the year.

Top Ten

(1)Dragon Age: Inquisition – The odds were stacked high against BioWare, Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 were massive letdowns and hopes were not high on the studio ever recovering. Fans held their breath as Dragon Age Inquisition reared its head, would we get the ambitious developer of Mass Effect 2 or the lazy absent-minded one from Dragon Age 2. Lo and behold, Dragon Age Inquisition rode in on a white horse delivering the most engrossing, fully realized game world of the year. The characters in Inquisition are some of the best BioWare has ever created, multi-layered and complicated, you’ll want to spend hours hanging out with them. They even manage to hold together an otherwise forgettable, run of the mill, world-ending plot. With this game BioWare has managed to both rectify every complaint players had while still brilliantly executing on all of their strengths. Dragon Age Inquisition is by far the best game of the year, mind-bogglingly massive, painstakingly detailed, gorgeously rendered, filled with wonderfully realized characters and so lovingly crafted the game oozes an enrapturing confidence that you’ll wonder where the past 90 hours of your life went.

(2)Shadow of Mordor – I’m not usually attracted to game play mechanics in video games, I’m more interested in the mediums capacity for storytelling. But what’s interesting about Shadow of Mordor is that its focus on one particular system, the Nemesis system, allows for a form of storytelling that is wholly unique to the medium. Shamelessly borrowing mechanics from other games, namely the Arkham and Assassin’s Creed series, Shadow of Mordor polishes and blends those two formulas while adding in a never before seen AI system that makes such a profound impact on the player experience people will be begging for it to be implemented in nearly every game moving forward. Enemies are shaped by your actions, they remember and adapt. You'll even form deep seated rivalries with randomly generated AI, it's unprecedented and unbelievably impressive. Shadow of Mordor is impressive on so many levels, not only is it immensely fun to play but the fluid way in which the game reacts to your every action is endlessly entertaining.

(3)Far Cry 4 – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Far Cry 4 may be a lot more of the same, in fact it’s unapologetically identical to the previous entry in the franchise, but that doesn't stop it from being an infectiously enjoyable romp. As someone who advocates that video games should take more risks and step away from the relative safety of well-established franchises and game play mechanics, I find myself conflicted playing Far Cry 4. On the one hand it’s fun as all get-out but it feels so familiar, not just within its own franchise and genre, but the ubiquitous Ubisoft template layered over the game makes it feel like it’s treading a lot of well-worn ground. But damn it if I don’t still feel compelled to climb every bell tower to reveal the map, and hunt animals to upgrade my wallet. I enjoyed my 20 or so hours in this fictionalized Himalayan countryside a whole lot, but I don’t plan on being this eager to play another Far Cry experience in this style in the near future.

(4)Bayonetta 2 – It’s an incredible feat Bayonetta 2 accomplished. It manages to outdue everything its predecessor did and then somehow top itself with each subsequent chapter of it's 16 chapter story. The opening level sees the titular character fighting corrupted angels atop a fighter jet as it rockets through a city and it only gets crazier from there. But the zaniness is not the only draw, the mechanics have been embellished and honed, combos are easier to string together and a slow-mo dodge allows you to manage tough fights. Bayonetta is likely the sharpest character action game ever released, a bold claim I know, but you'll be hard pressed to disagree with once you experience it.
Bayonetta 2 not only plays wonderfully but its complete lack of respect towards comprehension is staggering and one of the great joys of playing through its bouts of insane action and random nudity.

(5)Sunset Overdrive – Early on Sunset Overdrive does little to distinguish itself outside of a shockingly vibrant setting. But Insomanic Games bring their seemingly patented innovative weapon design and exceedingly fun game play to create a roll-licking good time. The games humor oftentimes misses the mark, but it allows the game to take ever increasingly ridiculous set pieces in strides while poking fun at video games and breaking the fourth wall. Traversing the world is this games strong suit, I've never played a game that felt this polished, considering the amount of things you can bounce on, grind on, fly off, climb up and around it’s staggering the game never losses its momentum. Stringing together these traversal elements while laying waste to thousands of energy drink infected mutants (it’s a thing) with batshit crazy weapons is some of the most gleefully indulgent fun I've had in a video game all year. 

(6)The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is an immensely atmospheric game that tasks you with discovering the mystery of a quiet riverside town. The game rewards exploring every nook and cranny with excursions into reality bending side stories hidden in little side areas throughout the game. The game boils down to finding clues and then ordering the sequence of events correctly. But game play is not what Ethan Carter is all about, the game is at all times haunting; a nervous feeling of unease permeates the entire game as you wonder whether whatever mysterious force is at work in this small town will come out from the shadows and confront you. I loved every second of this game; it evoked a great sense of wonder and lured me in by my obsessive need to discover. I hypnotically made my way through the ominous mystery discovering every secret along the way without pausing once. I was completely enamored with the game and was only slightly disappointed with how it wrapped up.

(7)Shovel Knight – Shovel Knight perfectly recreates classic Nintendo platformers from the 8-bit era while not being a slave to them. A game layered with nostalgic callbacks that improves on those classic games it emulates with smart modern design sense. Shovel Knight is a true homage, it doesn't lean on the games that inspired it but it uses them as stepping stone to achieve something altogether new.  The music is immensely memorable, the levels more so, the tight controls are pure bliss and it all comes together in one of the best retro indie games. I'm struggling not to call this game perfect because no game is ever perfect but Shovel Knight is so finely tuned and meticulously designed and crafted it comes damn close.

(8)Transistor – Transistor is only Supergiant Games second game but they already show a master class skill in game design. All the great things about Bastion are here but with it comes a more nuanced game play system. A mix between turn-based and real-time strategy, combat involves combining a variety of powers to fight the various enemies. Tactically approaching every enemy encounter is a necessity and the hundreds of power variants you can equip allow for literal thousands of game play styles. The cyberpunk world is well realized, the narrator this time around is your weapon who, as the story later reveals, is something much more. The art is gorgeous and the wonderfully dreary music will make its way onto your iPod within minutes of completing the game. Transistor is one of the rare games where both style and substance are well executed, the game looks and sounds beautiful but the combat system is also rewarding and deep. Supergiant Games third game can’t come soon enough.

(9)Wolfenstein: The New Order – I don’t think anyone was expecting anything from this game but it should come as no surprise that some of the minds that brought us the incomparable Escape from Butcher Bay managed to breathe life into a dormant, once mindless franchise. Wolfenstein manages to tell a surprisingly poignant, truthfully written and acted alternate future story wherein Nazi’s win WWII and go onto occupy the Moon. If this sounds ludicrous it’s because it is, and that allows the game to stand out amongst the now rote modern military shooters that have flooded the medium. Wolfenstein is impeccably designed. A myriad of gameplay options are laid at your feet and all are incredible fun to experiment with, whether it’s stealth, minor puzzles, character interactions or the traditional over the top mowing down of enemies. Once the initial surprise wore off, Wolfenstein still stood tall atop a heap of dead Nazi’s as an unapologetically fun and well-designed shooter with a compelling, if outrageous, story the likes of which hasn’t been seen in recent years.

(10)The Evil Within – This one will surprise most people I would think, and yet three months after completing the game I’m still thinking about it. The Evil Within feels like a logical extension of ideas and mechanics introduced in Resident Evil 4, the issue is that it is not 2005 and ten years is a long time in the world of video games. It is filled with a lot of frustrating anachronisms but I still found myself looking forward to each new level and ridiculous boss. The story is nonsensical but it does offer opportunities to do just about anything a horror game would like to explore. Creepy abandoned village, haunted mansion, insane asylum, name it you probably confront it at one point or another. The game illicit genuine moments of dread and fear; ammo is scarce, enemies are abundant, and dying is common. Unfortunately other times it’s a frustrating mess with unclear game play mechanics. It may strike you as a bit odd that a game I have repeatedly made concession about is on my TOP 10 list, but this game just evokes feelings of immense joy from me. Maybe it’s getting by on the laurels of my love for Resident Evil 4 but regardless I enjoyed the game immensely despite its shortcomings.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Wolf Among Us – Telltale has consistently crafted some of my favorite video game experiences for two years now. The Wolf Among is no different and though it fumbles in the execution of its densely intertwined mystery, the smoky noir world they establish and the seedy characters that inhabit it are so engrossing it’s a series I’m desperate to see return.

Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea – As Bioshock Infinite stood as my favorite game last year I would be remiss not to include the very excellent two part dlc, Burial at Sea. Taking place in Rapture before the events of the first game you play as the two leads from the last game, Booker and Elizabeth. With the mind-bending revelations of Infinite on the table, Irrational has a lot of fun with time travel, parallel universes and general craziness while never losing sight of the immensely grounded main characters plight to vanquish their metaphorical demons. This two part dlc wraps up the entire Bioshock universe in splendid fashion with some of the best moments in the entire series sprinkled throughout these two four hour stories.

The Last of Us: Left Behind – The folks at Naughty Dog crafted yet another resonate emotional journey, this time in only a few short hours with an outcome veteran players already knew. Despite those limitations they still managed to illicit tears from this feigned cold hearted fan. Turning established mechanics from the main game on their head to tell a story of indelible love, this bite sized apocalypse left me astounded and thoroughly moved.  An absolutely unmissable experience. 

The Banner Saga - The Banner Saga is a turn-based strategy game with a Tolkien level of world building. The world of Banner Saga is immensely detailed, and I mean immense the world map is filled with towns, landmarks even histories of the world all intricately explained. A staggering amount of work went into fleshing out this beautiful world, and good god is it beautiful. Artistically, you won't find a better looking game this year full-stop, this game is astoundingly gorgeous. The story is quite good as well and while unrelentingly bleak, the fascinating characters you meet and devastating decisions you make along the way deliver a surprisingly engrossing experience. 

Holding Out For a Hayao

With the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki and the uncertain future of Studio Ghibli I decided to check out some of the acclaimed work of other anime directors and writers. Not to fill the void Miyazaki will undoubtedly leave, filling that void is an insurmountable task, more aptly I was searching for someone or potentially several someones that were producing ambitious animation on the quality and scale of Miyazaki. A Sisyphean task I'm aware and yet I was ecstatic with my findings. What follows are some quick thoughts on some of the films in question as well as some assorted musings on the particular filmmakers.

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Wolf Children

 Written & Directed by Mamoru Hosoda

First up, Wolf Children, probably the most critically acclaimed and commercially known of the films I watched. Wolf Children was also probably the closest to a Ghibli film I found, and one of the reasons I wanted to start with it. The film mirrors Miyazaki’s penchant for blending grounded real world issues with imaginative fantastical elements filled with believable and well written characters. Wolf Children's key emotional pillars are motherhood and coming of age. And it tackles both with flawless precision and a deft touch, a rarity in animation. The film pivots pretty hard after an uninspired romantic opening, turning into a real trial by fire motherhood story for the duration thereafter and that’s when everything really begins to click. The film is far more subtle than most anime allowing for plenty of silent moments that say a lot. It’s in these quieter moments where the film really distinguishes itself from Miyazaki, where he bombarded the viewer with not so subtle commentary, Hosoda leaves a lot untold and unsaid giving the audience more to contemplate which shows both artistic restraint and trust in the viewer. It helps that Wolf Children is a simple story with only three key characters but even still it’s very commendable. The film is beautiful with a stunning level of detail and it’s to Hosoda’s credit once again that he finds interesting ways to play with how the audiences sees this world, with simulated camera moves and shots that are uncharacteristic of other anime and make the film stand out all the more. Wolf Children has a moving emotional story at its core that highlights and explores themes with a quiet assured touch, it’s mature while never delving into melodrama, it celebrates life and all the hardships therein. It’s an exceedingly well made and beautifully drawn film that may just rival that of the once assumed incomparable Miyazaki. A bold statement to be sure but one that I hope gets you to check out, Wolf Children. 

Garden of Words

Written & Directed by Makoto Shinkai 

Garden of Words is a romantic short film, at only 48 minutes including credits, the film resembles something more akin to an experiment for director Makoto Shinkai. What starts off as a generic meet cute romance quickly changes after an out of left field twist that alters the tone of the film substantially for the remainder. That twist comes too late and isn't sufficiently explored to turn around what is otherwise a rather lifeless story. The films greatest strength lies in its art, oftentimes bursting through the reality of the medium and producing an incomprehensibly photo-realistic scene with rain effects that are particularly staggering. Unfortunately the story is rather weak and the characters are nothing more than untapped potential, and quite frankly the entire film reminded me of a Lifetime original movie. I will admit I was surprised at how invested I became in the romance by the end of the film but it wasn't enough to make me forget many of the films glaring faults. The potential is there for a compelling romance and maybe with a longer run time more nuances could have been explored but as it stands Garden of Words is gorgeous artwork that lacks dramatic energy. It's pretty to look at but there isn't much substance, it's not bad by any measure but it won't be an experience you remember long after it ends. 

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 

Written by: Satako Okudera

Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda

Well it had to happen, but The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is the first bad film in this endeavor. It was particularly frustrating since so much of the film is quite strong, the writing and voice acting were top notch (I watched an English dub) the female protagonist is wonderfully realized and the school aged characters are all surprisingly well depicted in both animation and writing with plenty of subtle and believable interactions. Unto the mechanics. Time travel is a difficult subject to use in storytelling because instinctively the audience wants to understand how it works they want to know the possibilities and the limitations. And on top of establishing the boundaries of the ability it needs to be easy to follow as jumping through time can be quite confusing.Therein lies where the movie falls apart. The films final act, the climax, the reason the entire film is happening is so completely and utterly botched I'm amazing this film was ever released. There is a twist near the end of the film where a character from the future is revealed and the reason he traveled to the past was to see a painting. A painting. Once more in case you didn't yell out "WHAT!?!" in disbelief, a painting. It's never explained why. Nor is it explained what the final statement this future traveler says to our young protagonist means. "I'll wait for you in the future". Why not just stay in the past? Or go to the future and then come back immediately. What about the painting? There is a theory I have, because that's all I can do since the movie explains nothing. The main characters aunt is restoring the important for no reason painting and she explains she traveled through time in her youth as well. She also feel in love with a time traveling boy and has been waiting for his return. Is it the same boy? Still doesn't explain WHAT IS WITH THE PAINTING!!! The whole thing is just frustrating, there is a difference between a open-ended conclusion that encourages contemplation and a jumbled mess of incoherence that quite frankly isn't good enough in the rest of its parts to justify continuously thinking about. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has a compelling lead character and humorous moments throughout and even inventively plays with the concept of time travel but quickly squanders all of its potential in one of the most staggeringly unthought third acts I've ever witnessed. 

What I've Been Up To

Ryse: Son of Rome (1 out of 5)

Ryse: Son of Rome is more concerned with crafting a visually impressive immensely cinematic experience rather than a video game. Ryse falls short in one pretty important department, fun. The game is staggeringly arduous and monotonous, which is actually impressive when you take into account the game is only 4 hours long. In that time you'll mindlessly hack apart thousands of the same four character models in a display of astounding audacity that only served to bring my initial boredom of the game to a boiling rage. The combat is entirely color coded prompt based, every action you need to take is loudly telegraphed. Add to that scripted sequences that are meant to add variety which are then in turn repeated ad nauseam and you have one of the most unnecessary games I can think of. It does nothing. I can't think of a way to devalue it any further. It serves no purpose and should not exist.

Alien Isolation (Did Not Complete)

Alien Isolation is one of the first in a sudden and exciting rise in big-budget horror games. It attempts to redeem the recent trend of piss poor adaptations of the Alien franchise, focusing on what made the original film so ground breaking. Alien Isolation is a horror game in the vein of Amnesia The Dark Descent. There is one major unbeatable threat that hunts you for the majority of the game while you attempt to make it through each environment alive. Isolation does throw in some other adversaries including terrifyingly helpful to a fault robots and human looters but it's the Alien that provides most of the game most memorable moments. Unfortunately the game is a little clunky and so much of the experience leans on AI systems functioning correctly, which it often struggles with. Alien Isolation's greatest accomplishment is perfectly, and I mean perfectly, recreating the look and feel of the Alien movies, particularly the first film. The game is stunning with pixel perfect environments made better with great lighting and ambient effects. The atmosphere is spine tingling right up until you run into a wall trying to survive, the game often times doesn't respond or allow you to respond the way you may want to and it quickly becomes frustrating. It was fun for a few hours but I quickly gave up and left after a few hours, the presentation makes a strong impression but that is a facade that hides a far more unimpressive mechanical mess.

Roundabout (4 out of 5)

Roundabout is one of the most random and absurd video games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Tasked the controlling an perennially spinning limousine as you take passengers, all of whom are introduced in magnificent FMV cut scenes, to their destinations. Reductively it's Crazy Taxi in a limo, but Roundabout has so much more heart and damn good game design it managed to spin right into my normally cast iron heart. It's easy to play but difficult to master, the game wonderfully ramps up the difficulty throughout the roughly 3-4 hour campaign while also introducing new mechanics at a steady pace that vary up your driving style till the surprisingly touching conclusion. Roundabout is indelibly sweet for what could have been a simply joke taken too far, the FMV cut scenes start off as one off gags but quickly start forming an arc for main character, Georgio Manos, and even introduces a romantic relationship which becomes the driving force in the final hour or so of the game. Roundabout is an absolute joy and way more thoughtful and engaging than I would have initially guessed. Do yourself a favor and spend an afternoon with Georgio and the increasingly hilarious denizens of Roundabout (yes, the city is named Roundabout) you'll have a mile long grin plastered across your face for the duration.

Shovel Knight (5 out of 5)

Shovel Knight perfectly recreates classic Nintendo platformers from the 8-bit era. It adheres to the same limitations as well with color restrictions and number elements on screen. The games tight controllers and careful balance are necessary as the game also evokes a level of difficultly often unseen in today's games. Every boss and their associated worlds all make a strong impression which is surprising considering how many there are. I kept waiting for the one level I wasn't going to like, but it never came. Shovel Knight isn't for everyone but it is for people who love games, even if you don't have any nostalgia for the era of games Shovel Knight emulates it manages to capture the immeasurable quality of classic games such as Super Mario, Mega Man, and DuckTales to such a degree it feels in the same league. I'm struggling not to call this game perfect because no game is ever perfect but Shovel Knight is so finely tuned and meticulously designed and crafted it comes damn close. A game layered with nostalgic tinges that improves on those it emulates with smart modern design senses. Shovel Knight is a true homage, it doesn't lean on the games that inspired it but it uses them as stepping stones to achieve something altogether new.

Dead Rising 3 (2 out of 5)

Upon first booting up Dead Rising 3 I was met with the warm and fuzzies, it was like returning to a familiar and comfortable bed, but those feelings quickly slipped away into the darkness and that same bed quickly chewed up and spit me out in a horrific nightmare of an experience. Dead Rising 3 has a lot of the things the franchise has always done well, or really the one thing the franchise has always done well, killing thousands of zombies with ridiculously random weapons. Each game has added a minor tweak to that core concept, the first sequel added combo weapons and now in this third entry combo vehicles. Both of these things are great additions but not with a formula that is in desperate need of resuscitation. Dead Rising 3 is filled with laborious missions that are all the same and task you with treading over the entirety of the map multiple times needlessly extending the already doldrum filled experience. The bosses are weak, the story is tissue thin and the entire experience outstays it's welcome after just a few short hours. It's a shame such an ingenious and wacky franchise has gone the way of populous trash. Dead Rising 3 is disappointingly dull and entirely forgettable.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (4 out of 5) 

Emerging from a train tunnel into a beautiful forested area you breathlessly take in the gorgeous environment and wait for some clue as to what to do next. But it never comes. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter never explains what you are supposed to do at any point and rewards exploring every nook and cranny with excursions into reality bending side stories hidden in little side areas throughout the game. You play a classic hard boiled detective investigating a mysterious town and deducing the events that transpired before your arrival. The game boils down to finding clues and then ordering the sequence of events correctly. But game play is not what Ethan Carter is all about, the game is at all times haunting, a nervous feeling of unease permeates the entire game as you endlessly wonder whether whatever mysterious force is at work in this small town will come out from the shadows and confront you. I won't spoil exactly what awaits anyone who decides to give this game a look, but suffice to say it provides plenty of intoxicating atmosphere and a real sense of mystery which while disappointing in its final moments doesn't detract from the experience as a whole. I loved every second of this game, it evoked a great sense of  wonder and lured me in by my obsessive need to discover. I hypnotically made my way through the ominous mystery discovering every secret along the way without pausing once. I was completely enamored with the game and was only slightly disappointed with how it wrapped up.